The National Hockey League schedule-makers are looking prophetic for pitting the Calgary Flames against the Edmonton Oilers against each other four times in just over the span of a month.

Because after clashing this many times in this short period of time has brewed some serious bad blood between them and the fans, making every game feel like a do-or-die matchup.

It has also made each game feel like the post-season.

“I think rivalry games give you more of a playoff feel,” pointed out Flames head coach Geoff Ward prior to Saturday’s game at Scotiabank Saddledome. “That’s ultimately what it gets to be when you’re in the playoffs and lining up against the same guy for, potentially, seven nights in a row. So things do come out. I think it’s good for us.

“The position of the two teams in the standings, the rivalry, I think all of that stuff adds to the fact that — realistically — both teams are in playoff mode right now.”

The Pacific Division standings are logjammed, still, and all of a sudden, both the Flames and Oilers are chasing the Vancouver Canucks (30-18-4) who are currently on a five-game winning streak. Prior to Saturday’s game, the Flames (27-19-6) and Oilers (27-18-6) were tied with 60 points which made the stakes even higher.

Then, add that to the fact that the provincial rivalry is alive and well, every game between these clubs has felt like Game 7.

“It feels like a playoff — the Battle of Alberta,” said Flames netminder David Rittich. “It’s a little different intensity, a little different emotional game. It’s good for us. But I think every single team has something like that.

“I’m just looking forward to it and I want to win.”

There are many layers to this head-to-head match-up, starting with the history between Matthew Tkachuk and Zack Kassian and the recent reaction to Mark Giordano’s attempt to slow down Connor McDavid (which No. 97 believed was dangerously targeted at his knee).

Couple that with the fact that the games have been relatively close, apart from their first meeting on Dec. 27 which the Flames took by a 5-1 count, it’s starting to heat up.

And it’s starting to look a lot like springtime hockey.

“It’s not quite the same level as playoffs,” said Flames forward Sam Bennett. “But it does have that feel. Every play seems to be magnified. You make a hit, you hear the energy, you hear the fans. We know how important these games are so I think every play, every turnover is costly. Every mistake is costly.

“We know this team inside and out, and they know us too. We’ve played them so often so it feels like that as well.”

Truth be told, with the way the standings are, Ward is framing every game with a post-season mentality.

The calendar only flipped to February on Saturday, but April will soon be around the corner.

“We’re in a playoff race with 30 games to go,” Ward said. “Before you know it, 30 games is going to be 20 games. Then 20 games is going to be 10 games. It’s going to go by quickly, now. We’ve gotta make sure we’re at our best, every night.”

So, while many are predicting a collision course between the Flames and Oilers in the first round of the post-season and these last five weeks have felt like a preview of that, they still have to get there first.

“For us, it’s like playoffs every game right now,” Rittich added. “We want to get into playoffs. So we have to play an emotional game, we’ve gotta play strong. That’s how I’m looking at it.”

DOUBLE THE FUN

It was a rare doubleheader at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday with Canadian Hockey League action preceding the late game on Hockey Night in Canada.

In the afternoon, the Calgary Hitmen squared off with the Red Deer Rebels while, later at 8 p.m., the Calgary Flames clashed with the Edmonton Oilers.

But that also meant two totally different crews and broadcast talent for each broadcast, double duty for the Sportsnet television crew.

And an early wake-up call.

“The (broadcast truck) was parked at 4 a.m.,” said Murray Corbett, Sportsnet’s director of remote operations NHL and special projects with a chuckle.

The 5-0 Hitmen shutout of the Rebels — which required 11 technicians — was seen nationwide and, almost seamlessly, the building was ready to broadcast the Battle of Alberta — which required 28 separate technicians along with a production crew and different set of on-air talent.

Calgary and Edmonton are the only two cities where this scenario occurs because both cities share their buildings with the National Hockey League and Western Hockey League teams. Occasionally Toronto will have to accommodate a Maple Leafs game and a Toronto Marlies American Hockey League game or a women’s hockey game.

“It doesn’t happen often as you’d think, but when it does, we have to come up with a plan and leverage the facilities from the NHL to work with for the CHL,” Corbett said.

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